


3:36

by foryouandbits



Series: Tumblr Ficlets [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Ficlet, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 18:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8221160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foryouandbits/pseuds/foryouandbits
Summary: Eric's thoughts in the middle of the night after the events of 3.4 - Home Opener.





	

It was 3:36 in the morning and Eric was awake. That was not necessarily an uncommon occurrence on weekends or before midterms, but it was the beginning of the semester and Eric had been in the bed for four hours. He glanced over to his right – Jack had been asleep since they got home. It was no wonder; it was Jack’s first game and once they got back to Jack’s apartment, they barely made it to bed and to a goodnight kiss before Jack fell asleep. Eric had spent the better part of that first hour in bed with his mind and heart racing, cuddled against Jack’s chest, listening to Jack breathe steadily in and out.

Frustrated, Eric quietly scooted out of the bed, not that it would matter if he made much noise. Jack was down for the count and the bed had almost no motion transfer, something Eric had yet to grow accustomed to. His bare feet hit the hardwood floor, cool against his skin, and he slipped on Jack’s dress shirt before he headed out the door to the living room. There was nobody in the apartment but Jack – Eric had found an excuse to travel to and from the game separately from the rest of the team so he could make it back to the apartment alone – but Eric still felt uncomfortable walking around naked.

He rubbed the loose sleeves together as he walked down the dark hallway to the living room. Jack had yet to decorate the hallway and Eric had ideas, but they were working one room at a time. Eric didn’t want to push too much too quickly. He reached the living room and stopped in the open area next to the pool table. The moon was full and still hanging high in the sky, softly illuminating the space with pale light.

How did he get here? Eric Richard Bittle from Madison, Georgia, standing in the living room of his professional hockey playing boyfriend. And this apartment, these things, they belonged to Jack, _his Jack_ , the Jack that chirped him for tweeting too much and woke him up early on Sunday mornings to practice, whom he hated more than anything those first few weeks on the team. He remembered how badly he wanted to quit at the beginning and most of it was because of Jack, and now he stood in a living room he helped decorate, naked apart from a shirt that cost more than a plane ticket home.

Earlier that evening Eric stood inside an arena with a capacity of twenty thousand, staring up at signage with Jack’s face on it, wearing Jack’s jersey. He sat in a seat next to the ice and watched Jack warm up and Jack smiled at him – just at him. It was overwhelming then, but standing mostly naked in the living room, Eric placed his palms to his eyes and began to quietly cry at the turn his life had taken. He wanted to call his mother and tell her all of his brimming emotions – _How do I make a name for myself when the man I love is two hundred feet tall and looming at thousands of people? How do I tell him that this is terrifying when he’s been working toward this his entire life? What if he doesn’t do well? What if he does do well? What if he does so well he won’t want me anymore? How do I keep this to myself? How do I watch him play every game without people knowing that I love him? What if people know this? What if you know this, momma? How are you going to react when you know how I feel about him? I have no one to talk to and I’m tired but I can’t sleep because these thoughts won’t leave me alone._

“Bits?”

Eric turned around to see Jack standing in the doorway to the bedroom, gloriously and unabashedly naked. It was feeble to hope the distance and the darkness would hide the emotion on his face, but Jack could read him even from down the hallway. Jack approached without hesitation, meeting Eric where he stood. Jack cupped his face with one hand and tilted Eric’s chin upward, where there was no more hiding.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing, honey,” said Eric. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I know it’s not nothing. You can tell me anything, Bits, even if it’s about me.”

“Aren’t you scared?” Eric asked, his voice quiet, as if he were afraid to disturb the stillness between them. A small smile turned the corner of Jack’s lips.

“I’m always scared. What are you scared about specifically?”

“Everything. I’m afraid someone saw me come up here tonight and will see me when I leave in the morning. I’m afraid you’re going to get checked so badly you’ll never be able to play again. I’m afraid I’ll never be good enough for you.”

“Mmm, you think too much,” Jack said as he pressed a delicate kiss to Eric’s temple. “Come back to bed and let’s not think anymore.”

“No, Jack, I’m serious –“ Jack took a step back and let go of Eric.

“I know, Bittle, and what I’m telling you is that you don’t have to be afraid. I don’t have everything figured out, but I know for certain, more than anything else, that you are perfect for me and I will never be good enough to deserve you.”

Eric couldn’t help the tears that came to his eyes and he pressed his forehead against Jack’s chest. Jack wrapped his arms around Eric and they stood together in the moonlight in the living room, not speaking, just thinking, just together. Once Eric had quieted, Jack led him back to bed, and they fell asleep in their bed where, despite its size, the world felt a little less vast.


End file.
